Bickerstaff Showing Winning Is Important And Expected

Cavs’ coach J.B. Bickerstaff used the “p” word the other day regarding his basketball team. He said the expectation for the Cavaliers next season would be to make a run at the playoffs.

First of all, that a refreshing point of view. Coaches and players should want and expect to make the post-season. We doubt players start any season, even the wine and gold this season and think “gee, let’s lose 65 games”.

Second, this has to make all the tankers nervous. There are people out there who believe teams should be trying to do one of two things: Either be in a position to win a title or trying to maximize your chances of getting the first overall pick in the draft.

They don’t understand teams need to experience winning, coming out with victories occasionally breeds more wins. It’s a learned skill, that’s why you see veteran teams who have lost a great player continue to win for awhile. The players have learned how to come out ahead.

We hate to tell people, sometimes it’s not all about talent. It’s knowing where to be on the court, knowing how to set up a teammate, knowing what’s the right play.

We all know the Cavaliers are a very young basketball team. Their top three in minutes played in 2019-20 are all 25 years old and younger–Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, and Darius Garland.

Add Kevin Porter Jr. to the mix and that would make four of the top seven, and three of those guys are under 21.

And they will add another player from this year’s draft, as they will have one of the top six picks, and that guy will also be under 21 years old.

But they still need a goal of success, and that’s where Bickerstaff’s playoff comment comes in. Talented young players sometimes need to be reminded that winning is the main goal in the NBA.

Those four young players will have some veterans still on the roster to teach them the correct way to play. We have no idea about what this summer will bring (for the league, right now too) for Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, who will be a free agent, but even if they are gone, other solid veterans will likely be brought in.

For example, after Bickerstaff took over, look at the difference in the offense when Matthew Dellavedova got a ton more minutes at the point. Delly is third on the Cavs in assists, behind Sexton and Garland, both of whom play twice the minutes of the Australian.

Look at the influence he had on Sexton when we started moving the basketball offensively. Sexton saw the success, and his assist totals, criticized by many (including us) started to rise.

That’s learning. Now we aren’t naïve to think all players are open to learning and understanding that winning is important. There are plenty in today’s game who think making the “pretty” play is the right thing to do, and winning is secondary.

Those guys usually become guys who put up numbers on bad teams.

The great players are part of winning teams, championship teams.

That’s what J.B. Bickerstaff wants to develop in Cleveland with the Cavs. And telling his young group of players that winning is important and expected is a good step.

You can’t start too early.

On The Frustration Of Kevin Love

The Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly have a disconnect within their own roster, and it centers around Kevin Love.

Love was fined for a temper tantrum on New Year’s Eve in Toronto, showing frustration with the way the team was playing during a timeout.

He was fined a reported $1000 (pennies for the all star) for the outburst, and then argued with GM Koby Altman after practice about the situation. Please note for future reference who Love was upset with…

Against Oklahoma City later that night, Love showed his feelings several times during the game, snapping a pass at Cedi Osman’s feet and turning and shaking his head at other times during the contest.

Clearly, he is having a tough time with the way things are going. He wants to be traded, and for him, it can’t come soon enough.

Why is he yelling at Altman though? Shouldn’t his angst be directed at the coaching staff, after all, they are controlling how the team is playing on the floor, right?

Here’s where we will try to connect the dots (at least in our humble opinion).

We think the coaching staff shares Love’s concern about the way the team is playing, but they are getting direction from the front office level.

Altman drafted both Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, two smaller guards in the first round each of the last two years. He obviously would like them to play and to play well. Unfortunately, this makes the team on the floor very small.

This height disadvantage isn’t just limited to the backcourt, the wine and gold are small throughout the roster, statistically the smallest team in the NBA.

The other reason we think Love directed his comments toward the general manager is the vision John Beilein has said he wants for his team. He consistently talks about ball movement, and how he wants the Cavs to move the ball like, say the Boston Celtics do.

But when Sexton gets into his dribbling shows, nothing is done. It would seem that if a player isn’t doing what the coach wants, there would be repercussions.

Unless, of course, the GM is telling the coach to play both of his first round picks.

This whole thing centers around Sexton, who isn’t shooting from distance like he did in the second half of his rookie season, and his assist numbers, while not good a year ago (3.0) have dropped to 2.3 per night.

And yes, we understand he is playing off the ball more than he did a year ago.

Sexton is taking more shots per game than he did a year ago, and this year Love has been available for most games. The second year man is taking four more shots per contest than Love, who by the way, is second on the team in assists (2.9) behind Garland’s 3.2.

We guess is taking his position change to “shooting” guard literally.

Look, Sexton is still a very young player, just turning 21 a few days ago. However, we are guessing by the reactions of Love and Tristan Thompson, the coaching staff is telling him to move the ball more, and yet, he still gets in ruts where he is pounding the ball into the hardwood.

Maybe, the staff wants to cut into his playing time to send a message, but the front office is saying no. And that’s where Love’s frustration comes in. Perhaps he was saying to Altman to let Beilein coach the second year pro.

We aren’t sure you can win in today’s NBA with two smaller guards, and if we are correct, eventually someone, either Garland or Sexton will have to be moved.

That’s the real decision for Koby Altman.

Cavs Still A Little “Short” On Height

The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a better start than most people expected, winning four of their first nine games, and then lost by one point on the road to the 76ers, one of the NBA’s better teams.

They’ve lost the last four games by 11, 19, 18, and 24 points, and the first of those losses, at home to Miami, wasn’t as close as the final margin indicates.

The Cavs don’t have a deep roster, and it is well known they have plenty of very young players, and injuries have started to creep up, and that hasn’t helped the situation.

Especially when the squad’s big men, of which there aren’t many, are the people who are missing games.

Larry Nance Jr. is out with a sore thumb, and Kevin Love missed a loss to the Knicks with a sore back, and Tristan Thompson missed last night’s contest in Miami.

Thompson is the tallest of the trio at 6’9″, with Love at 6’8″ and Nance a small forward like 6’7″

Remember that two other tall men, John Henson (6’9″) and Ante Zizic (6’10”) have been available for four games combined in the 2019-20 campaign.

This is a continuation of the past few years where the wine and gold simply don’t have enough size on the roster, whether it be due to injuries or just not having the players.

Cleveland has gone with a three man rotation at center/power forward most of the year with Love, Thompson, and Nance. Since Zizic has returned, either Nance, Love, or Thompson, or two of the three have been out.

Henson appeared in one game, giving Cleveland four big men, and the Cavaliers won that game.

And it’s not just up front that the Cavs are small. Cedi Osman is the small forward and he’s 6’7″, and is backed up principally by rookie Kevin Porter Jr., who is listed at 6’4″.

Cleveland is also starting a pair of 6’1″ guards in Collin Sexton and rookie Darius Garland. Jordan Clarkson (6’4″) and Matthew Dellavedova (6’3″) are the reserves.

So, the Cavs’ backcourt is very small, and their frontcourt isn’t exactly huge either.

Look at the defending champion Toronto Raptors. They start veteran Marc Gasol (6’11”) at center, Pascal Siakam (6’9″) at the 4, and OG Anunoby (6’7″) at small forward.

When Love and Nance were out against the Knicks, coach John Beilein started Osman at PF and Porter Jr. at SF.

New York, with three long players in the starting lineup, dominated the wine and gold in the paint.

Being short (no pun intended) of length, Beilein needs perfect execution offensively, which he isn’t getting, and defensively, he has a problem.

Thankfully, Love and Thompson were excellent rebounders, so Cleveland doesn’t get beat too badly on the boards when they are playing.

What can Beilein do?

He can change his combinations to have more size. He could start by bringing Garland off the bench, replacing him in the starting lineup with Porter. That would give the Cavs a more traditional lineup with a bigger guard.

He could also give Alfonso McKinnie (6’7″) more time, perhaps shrinking Dellavedova’s minutes. And when Henson can play again, you could play Nance some at small forward too.

And sending Garland to the bench doesn’t mean cutting his minutes either. It just means limiting the minutes where he and Sexton are on the floor together.

We believe Beilein will make the adjustments. After being very competitive in the first nine games, his team has been blown out four straight games.

Also, the Cavs rank 5th from the bottom in three point shooting percentage. Shorter teams that can’t shoot doesn’t seem to be a blueprint for success in today’s game.

How long is the coach’s patience? We may find out soon.

Curious To See These Cavs

When you really think about it, there is no place to go for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but up.

After four straight Eastern Conference championships, the wine and gold won just 19 games a year ago, a season in which their best player, Kevin Love, played just 22 games.

You have to think having Love active for even 60 games (the whole load management thing) makes the Cavs better in their 50th season.

Many speculate the organization wants to move Love, and maybe they do. But it only makes sense if the Cavaliers get a premium for his services. As long as the veteran is happy and isn’t causing any problems in the locker room, why trade him just to move him?

There is no evidence the big man from UCLA wants out. And why not have some veterans for the young Cavs, there are six key players with under three years experience to learn from?

Besides, it’s not as though the wine and gold need more young players. They will likely have three rookies, a second year player, and two third year guys getting a lot of time in 2019-20.

One thing we have praised Koby Altman and his staff for is the type of people they have brought in here. The veterans are willing to teach and groom the younger players, and the youth on the team has been very willing to work hard in order to get better.

We saw the leap last year’s first round pick, Collin Sexton made within the season, going from 15.1 points and 2.9 assists in the first half to 20.8 points and 3.2 assists after the All Star Game.

His shooting went from 40.8% to 47.7%.

We expect quantum leaps from Sexton, as well as Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic.

New coach John Beilein is a teacher, and he is indicated he will use Love at center, but we also believe that will depend on how veterans Tristan Thompson and John Henson will play. If they are productive, Beilein may use a traditional starting five with Love at power forward and Osman at small forward.

If Larry Nance Jr., another player who improves his game every single year, out plays Thompson and Henson, then Love will shift to the pivot.

The coach has indicated he will start Sexton and top draft pick Darius Garland at guards, and we would guess Brandon Knight and Jordan Clarkson will back them up.

As for possible trade speculation, we would predict Thompson and Clarkson are bigger candidates to be moved than Love.

With Love, Nance, and Henson (who has to prove himself after missing most of last season) getting time, and Zizic needing to play, it would seem Thompson is the odd man out, and his experience and defensive prowess would seem to make him desirable to contending teams.

As for Clarkson, he doesn’t seem to be a fit. He doesn’t move the ball, he’s not a particularly strong defender, and if and when Kevin Porter Jr. is ready to get time, he would seem to be the odd man out.

We are anxious to see Garland, because he has a reputation of being a good passer and he has some range on his shot. Remember, he only played a handful of games in college at Vanderbilt.

Beilein would seem to be the right coach for a very young roster. And with the work ethic of this team, perhaps they can be better than expected.

It’s a season of curiosity for sure.

Who May Not Be Back For The Cavs Next Fall.

The NBA playoffs have started over the past weekend and for the first time in five seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not participants.

That’s not really a surprise to many who figured the wine and gold’s contending days ended when LeBron James departed for Los Angeles.

As expected, Larry Drew and the Cleveland front office parted ways. Drew would like to catch on with a contending team as an assistant, while GM Koby Altman’s preference for head coach would be a younger man with a background in player development.

We have already talked about who would be our core group heading into the 2019-20 campaign, the 50th season for the Cavs.

We would build around Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman, and David Nwaba. Collin Sexton showed enough in the second half of the season to be here as well, although if Cleveland happened to draft Ja Morant, we could see pursuing a deal for the rookie guard. (Notice we didn’t say point guard).

And our preference would be for Ante Zizic to be on the roster too, although we question whether or not we will ever be a solid interior defender. You can learn to position yourself properly to minimize your lack of quickness with experience.

We all are aware of J.R. Smith’s situation, his contract, because it is not fully guaranteed is a much better asset for teams if he is moved prior to the end of June. Because of that, he will likely be moved prior to the NBA Draft.

Notice we have not mentioned two key members of this year’s roster, including someone who was a key piece of the championship team.

We would bet Tristan Thompson will be moved before the next season begins. Thompson’s contract expires after the ’19-’20 schedule ends, which makes him a valuable piece.

Plus, his skills fit much better with a team contending for a title. He’s a solid defender inside, a tireless rebounder, particularly at the offensive end, and he has a lot of playoff experience.

Besides, the Cavs have Love, Nance, and Zizic who we are sure they would rather give more minutes to going forward, and don’t forget John Henson as well. And we would bring Marquese Chriss back on a smaller contract if he is amenable.

The other member who received a lot of playing time this season is Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson provided scoring (16.8 PPG) for a team that at times needed it badly. But we still don’t know if he is anything more than a guy who can score points for bad teams.

He’s been in the association for six years, and made one playoff appearance, last season with the Cavs, where he was frankly, terrible.

His shooting numbers this season weren’t anything out of his norm, and he’s not a great passer or defender.

His contract also expires at the end of next season.

Our guess is Altman would be willing to move either and take back a bad contract with perhaps two years remaining if first round draft picks were included.

Nick Stauskas is also a free agent, but we believe the organization picked him up after he was waived to fill a roster spot, and they don’t have plans for him next season.

We believe the Cavs will be very active before the draft and when the free agency period kicks off, looking to make more moves like they did in getting Brandon Knight.

And of course, they will have a high draft choice as well. The floor is all yours, Koby Altman.

Identifying Cavs Of The Future

There is no question this has been a lost season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. While you can question whether or not they could’ve been a playoff contender when the regular season started, you can’t debate having Kevin Love miss 50 games has put the wine and gold in contention for the worst team in the NBA.

Now that Love has returned, there has been progress, much to the dismay of draft lottery fans everywhere.

Yes, the most of the recent wins by the Cavs have come over fellow dreck squads in New York, Phoenix, and Memphis, remember the wine and gold lost three of four to the team immediately above them in the standings, the Chicago Bulls.

Even in the midst of a terrible season, has the organization found some players who could be a help to the team when it makes its next playoff run?

Certainly, Love has shown he not only can still be a productive player, but he seems to have embraced the leadership role he has now. He took a backseat in that regard when LeBron James was here, but he is relishing being the Cavs’ go to guy.

And you can hear other players talk about Love and fellow veteran (and a member of the ’16 title team) Matthew Dellavedova speak about ball movement and playing the right way. Both of them are praising rookie Collin Sexton publicly when he makes the correct decisions on the floor.

In fact, we would keep Love to start next season to provide leadership, and if he wants to move on, the trading deadline might be where you get the most for him.

The most improved player from day one of this season has been Cedi Osman, who we thought could be a player last year. Since January 1st, Osman has hit 50% of his shots from the floor, 43% from three point land, and is scoring 15.1 points per night.

Plus, he has an enthusiasm for the game. He wants to get better, and we feel he will continue to do so.

We have also long lauded the intangibles of Larry Nance Jr. and he hasn’t disappointed. Nance is averaging 9.1 points and 8 rebounds per game, and he and Love are unquestionably the best passers on the team.

Plus, on a bad defensive squad, he is probably the best defender, even though he plays out of position a lot, because he’s not a center.

And he’s adding range to his shooting, and we feel he will be a much better shooter in 2019-20.

An unsung player we like, although he’s missed a lot of time is David Nwaba. We understand Nwaba isn’t a starter, but we believe he can be a solid bench player for the foreseeable future.

He’s a wing defender by trade, but Larry Drew has used him to guard power forwards because of the lack of players with a defensive attitude on the team.

We wish he would shoot less threes (there’s a reason he’s open), but we would like to have him back next season. He and Dellavedova have the toughness good teams desire to have.

What may stand out is who is not on this list. Many would include Jordan Clarkson, but to us, all he’s demonstrated is he can score on a bad team. His performance during the playoffs last season causes us to doubt him.

We would like to see more of Ante Zizic, and would lean toward bringing him back, but his defensive shortcomings are a concern.

And we didn’t mention rookie Collin Sexton, who we haven’t given up on, like many of the so-called basketball people in Cleveland, but if you draft Murray State’s Ja Morant, and you think he’s better than Sexton, why wouldn’t you move him.

We would like to take a second look at guys like Marquese Chriss, and we haven’t seen John Henson at all.

It is important to have veteran leadership for young players, and we would like to see Dellavedova stay around too.

There are building blocks for the Cavs. The four we mentioned, plus a high draft pick could be part of the group that starts the climb back up the standings for the wine and gold.

Looking At Cavs’ Future…

As former Cavaliers’ GM Chris Grant might say, the team is in “asset acquisition mode”, right now as the NBA trading deadline grows ever so closer, that date being February 7th.

What will the wine and gold look like after Thursday and even looking ahead to this summer?

The front office will no doubt want to keep Cedi Osman, who has played much better since the calendar turned to 2019, and Collin Sexton will get an opportunity to work on his game this summer, and hopefully come back with added dimensions to his game.

Larry Nance Jr. would also seem to be a keeper.

Beyond that trio? Your guess is as good as ours.

Kevin Love’s inactivity thus far would seem to mean he will finish the year with Cleveland. Since he hasn’t played since October, his value is low, but a fine last two months of the season would make him very appealing to a contender.

It will also be interesting to see what the organization does with Tristan Thompson. The big man from Canada would seem to be more valuable to a contending team than he is to a squad that is a couple of years away from the playoffs.

If you can get a first round pick and some promising young players, you have to do it.

Same with Jordan Clarkson, who has been the Cavs’ leading scorer this season, but his value may never be higher.

We doubt Larry Drew will return as head coach. In looking for a replacement, GM Koby Altman should be looking for someone with along the Kenny Atkinson (head coach of the Brooklyn Nets) model, someone who can teach a group of young players how to play NBA basketball, and also refine their abilities.

Forget about big names or retread guys, fine someone who can communicate and teach the fundamentals, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

Altman needs to find a coach who will use a style of play that will emphasize the strengths of the team. That may seem simplistic, but think about how Tyronn Lue tried to play with the roster on hand at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

In looking at possible trades, we would take a shot at any player drafted in the last couple of years that has reached a point where their current team is disappointed in them.

Here is a list of players whose current teams seem disenchanted with them, many because of where they were drafted. From the 2017 draft, we would be interested in Josh Jackson (Phoenix) or Frank Ntilikina (Knicks), and if Philadelphia still wants to part with him, the first overall pick that year, Markelle Fultz.

From the year before, we would be interested in Marquese Chris (Houston) or Thon Maker (Milwaukee). Both are big men who have struggled in their career to date. With the shortage of height on the Cleveland roster, why not see if either are just late bloomers, which many big men are.

The Cavs’ Ante Zizic was a later pick in that draft, as was newly acquired Wade Baldwin, who came from Portland in the Rodney Hood deal.

Just because a player didn’t do well in one system doesn’t mean they can’t play. And the Cavs should be using the rest of the season like they have the last two months, like an extended tryout camp.

If you see yourself as someone who likes to evaluate talent, the rest of this NBA season may be right up your alley, that is, if you follow the Cavaliers.

Cavs’ Turmoil This Year Not A Help To Sexton

It is no secret the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season hasn’t been as expected. While no one thought the Cavs would be returning to the NBA Finals for the fifth consecutive season, even the most negative fans would have thought they’d be sitting at 9-37 at this point.

But that’s what happens when not only does LeBron James depart, but your team is missing another all-star, Kevin Love, for basically the entire season.

All of the losing has caused fans to be very critical of some of the players, particularly the wine and gold’s first round draft pick, Collin Sexton.

It seems that many fans expected Sexton to be Kyrie Irving from the moment he took the court as a rookie. That’s a pretty unfair comparison.

Look, we don’t think the recently turned 20 year old point guard is having a good year. There are plenty of things he needs to address this off-season to be a starting caliber player on an NBA playoff team.

His assist to turnover ratio is 2.8::2.3, and his defensive win shares in the worst in the NBA.

However, if you look at the worst defensive win shares in the league, they lowest four all belong to Cleveland players: Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson.

That’s because of the awful defensive concept the Cavaliers have used over the last two and a half seasons.

As for the assists to turnovers issue, the Cavs are second worst in the league in assists as a team, mostly because they don’t have a lot of ball movement in their offense. Our opinion is that’s a result of trying to control the shot clock in an effort to keep the pace slow.

That doesn’t mean Sexton is really a good passer either. At this point of his career, he’s more likely to look for his own shot than he is to seek the open man.

We’ve all seen the chart on social media showing Sexton’s terrible efficiency rating in comparison to the rest of the NBA players, but much of that is due to Cleveland’s terrible record and showing in games.

They get blown out a lot.

All of this doesn’t mean Sexton is a bust. First, no one should be labeled a bust 46 games into their career, especially someone who was thought of highly enough to be the eighth overall pick.

Make no mistake, most draft experts had Sexton going in the first dozen choices in the draft too. It’s not as though only the Cavaliers’ front office had him rated highly.

Actually, the one thing that has been better than advertised for the rookie is his shooting. He’s made 39% of his three point attempts (although he doesn’t shoot many), and is making 86.6% of his free throws, up 8% from his year at Alabama.

Let’s see how Sexton plays with a functional team before making the decision that the Cavs made a mistake.

A team with a coach that isn’t fired six games into the season. A team that doesn’t lose its best player four games into the year. A team that doesn’t have a revolving door at the #2 guard spot. A team that doesn’t try to play a small forward at the #4 position.

With all this going on, it’s not fair to make a judgment on Collin Sexton. Sometimes there is an underlying story beyond the analytics.

Cavs Need New Defensive Scheme…Now!

There is no question the Cleveland Cavaliers are shorthanded. They don’t have their best player in Kevin Love. Tristan Thompson just returned from missing games, and he is their second best player.

David Nwaba is the Cavs’ best perimeter defender and he has been more out of the lineup than in it for most of the season. And last night, Rodney Hood and Matthew Dellavedova missed the contest with injuries.

That left coach Larry Drew with nine healthy bodies. One of those, Jalen Jones, is a two-way player, and Pat McCaw just joined the team after signing as a free agent.

There is no question it is a very difficult situation for Drew.

The wine and gold have lost nine in a row, and six of the nine have been by 15 points or more. So, for the most part, the Cavaliers are getting boat raced on a nightly basis.

In only one of those games, a 95-87 loss at Memphis, did the Cavs allow less than 110 points. Not 100 points, a 110 points.

As a point of contrast, in the 18 games prior to and including Cleveland’s last win over Indiana, opponents were held under 110 points 11 times.

In this nine game losing streak the defense has been atrocious.

There is no question the Cavaliers are the NBA’s worst defensive team. They are worst in field goal percentage against, and the only reason they aren’t last in the league in points allowed is they are 29th (second last) in the NBA in pace.

They play very slow, which is by design because it is their best chance of pulling out a few wins.

The defensive issues aren’t anything new either. Cleveland ranked 29th in the NBA a year ago with a team that had LeBron James on it. The year before? They were 21st.

The last time the Cavs ranked in the top ten in the Association was in their championship season of 2015-16.

That’s when Tyronn Lue was in charge of the defense. Since then, Mike Longabardi has been in charge and it’s time for a change there.

Why now? There is no question the coaching staff will be blown out after the season and Longabardi will be replaced then. Why not wait it out?

This is a very young basketball team, and they aren’t learning basic, sound defensive concepts. Collin Sexton is statistically the worst defensive player in the league (by defensive win shares), and Jordan Clarkson is second worst.

The worst three defensive ratings on the team belong to Sexton, Dellavedova, and Cedi Osman. We know Delly can play defense, and Lue used to use Osman for defense at the end of games a year ago. All of a sudden he can’t defend?

Look at the last few games–

1/5 vs. New Orleans: 61 points against in first half, 72 in the second half
1/4 vs. Utah: 48 points against in first half, 69 in the second half
1/2 vs. Miami: 58 points against in first half, 59 in the second half
12/29 vs. Atlanta: 57 points against in first half, 54 in the second half
12/28 vs. Miami: 56 points against in first half, 62 in the second half

See a pattern, the coach sees what a team is doing in the first half, makes some adjustments, and they do worse after halftime?

We understand this season is a rebuild and should be the basement for awhile. But we are concerned about bad habits going forward.

We still believe Osman can play, and we think Sexton has ability. However, they could be harmed by what’s going on with this season.

It’s not too late to make a move. Use the second half of the season to lay a defensive foundation for the future. And hold the players accountable too.

What Does Drew Do With Returning Cavs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their best game of the season Tuesday night when they beat the Charlotte Hornets convincingly at Quicken Loans Arena.

They followed that up the next night getting hammered by the Washington Wizards on the road.

That’s the life of a team trying to discover themselves after they lost the beat player in the league. They have to realize what happened the night before has no bearing on the next game.

You have to have sound habits and solid defense every night to win in the NBA. Consider that game one of the “lessons” former coach Tyronn Lue talked about when training camp started in September.

Larry Drew’s next challenge will be fitting in the returning injured players. For whatever reasons, and we know analytically it doesn’t make sense, the Cavs have played better with Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. at the big man spots.

So, it would seem putting Cedi Osman back at the small forward spot is a no-brainer. JR Smith has played well defensively, but he is still shooting just 35% from the floor, and just 32% from three. Osman hasn’t done much better, but might be better served with the slower pace, taking more mid-range jumpers and getting to the rim.

And, we have always thought Osman was a solid defender too.

Kyle Korver should be back tomorrow night, but Drew has already said David Nwaba will not lose playing time, and why should he?

Nwaba has the highest offensive rating on the team (which we would say is not sustainable), and has the second best (behind Nance) defensive rating. He’s shooting 51.5% from the floor, which isn’t likely to continue, but it is what it is.

It is also hard to imagine Collin Sexton will go back to the bench when George Hill returns.

Since becoming a starter, the rookie has averaged 18.8 points per game. We would like to see more than 2.5 assists per night, but he’s shooting 48% from the field, and has made 7 of 10 from three.

And for people who said Sexton couldn’t shoot, he’s making 92.7% of his free throws. People who can’t shoot don’t do that.

Whether or not Hill will be happy coming off the bench could be an issue, but at least for now, Sexton should get the majority of the playing time.

He still needs to get better defensively, but he does seem to make an effort on that end of the floor.

Sam Dekker is still a ways from being back, but we felt he was miscast as a power forward before he was hurt, but maybe he fits better as Osman’s backup after deals are made to move veterans like Smith and Korver.

And of course, when Kevin Love returns, that will cause Drew to make another adjustment, probably moving Nance to the bench.

The point is finding the right combination of players who can play together with the new pace of play established by the new coach.

It also appears that Tristan Thompson is taking a leadership role in the locker room, something very important for a younger group of players. They need one of their own to hold players accountable.

We aren’t saying the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make the playoffs this season, but we also don’t think this is a 2-12 team either, the Wizards’ game notwithstanding.

More changes will be coming, as it would not be shocking to see Korver, in particular, moved to a playoff contender soon. But it looks like Drew is open to seeing who is playing well, and giving them more time.

That’s how it should work.